Two-time Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver will headline the cast of new Foxtel mini-series Secret City.
The political thriller, produced by Matchbox Pictures, begins shooting in Canberra this month.
Weaver will play Senator Catriona Bailey, Attorney-General and Australian Labor Party powerbroker.
The series was inspired by the best-selling novels The Marmalade Files and The Mandarin Code, written by Canberra journalists Chris Uhlmann and Steve Lewis.
Foxtel Head of Drama Penny Win said it was a huge casting coup.
"Set in the backdrop of the nation’s capital, Secret City will be a compelling and intriguing Australian political drama and we are very proud of the cast and creatives we are assembling for this program.”
Weaver recently completed production on the upcoming US comedy series Blunt Talk, opposite Patrick Stewart, and appears with Michael Caton in the Australian film, Last Cab To Darwin.
In Secret City, Weaver will be joined by Anna Torv (Fringe, Foxtel’s Deadline Gallipoli), Damon Herriman (Justified, The Water Diviner) and Dan Wyllie (Puberty Blues, Foxtel’s Tangle), with further casting to be announced soon.
The six-part series is set in a world of secrets, lies, murder and betrayal – beneath the placid facade of Canberra.
Amidst rising tension between China and America, senior political journalist Harriet Dunkley (Torv) uncovers a secret city of interlocked conspiracies, putting innocent lives in danger – including her own.
Secret City will air on Foxtel’s showcase in March 2016.
Secret City is a Matchbox Pictures production for Foxtel, supported by Screen Australia and Screen ACT.